5 Signs You are a Problematic Parent

October 1, 2018

5 Signs You are a Problematic Parent

Imagine paying only $3.50 haircut by a barber, but demanding for the expertise of a renowned hairdresser and stylist, with complimentary wash and massage – sounds great? No. Don’t do this. Parents who do this when requesting for Tutors are Problematicparents.

These Parents treat agentsas “scums of the earth“, due to the negative connotation attached to the word “agent” – from insurance agents, and the likes.

We have dealt with Parents of all types and pattern (See: Tutor Blacklist). Through our daily chats and conversations with Parents requesting for Tutors, we can easily weed out the problematic Parents with these few key signs. These signs enable us to detect and prioritise providing adequate amounts of explanation on our end to ensure misunderstandings can be prevented. Preventing anything from blowing out of proportion, becoming another “horror tuition agency” story.

Here are some signs you are that Problematic parent (PP for short).

1. Excessive Demands

PPs usually know very well of the tuition market rate for Tutors, but they are only willing to pay below market rate. PPs only want to pay the lowest possible amount, but requestfor the best Tutors. These demands come in the form of – the Tutor must have:

In addition to the above, PPs also demand that the Tutor be able to do below $25-30/h, and also meet their inflexible timeslots.

We are not saying that you will not be able to find a Tutor that is willing to do the above. Our capable Tutors will just move on to the next assignment.

2. “Free Consultation via Whatsapp anytime”

Some PPs even request for the Tutor to provide free consultation anytime at their own convenience for their Child. They then proceed to abuse the free consultation by asking even more questions out of lesson time, due to the fact that it is free.

These Problematic Parents (PPs) can be identified by those requesting for multiple core subjects (such as English, Maths and Science), but only for 1 lesson/week. They seek to reduce their costs on Tutors, but maximise the “free consultation” the Tutor was initially okay with.

We are not saying that asking for consultations outside of lessons time makes you a PP. Asking a few questions to clarify doubts is fine. But if it goes overboard such that the Tutor is not getting paid for the amount of work he does altogether, you are a PP.

3. Delayed Payment and Payment Issues

PPs, or Problematic Parents, also like to delay when it comes to payment. During the sourcing and negotiating Tutors period, PPs are very proactive in discussing their requests and clarifying doubts of our systems. However when our Services are fulfilled and payment is due, PPs will suddenly be uncontactable, providing no response – it’s like they are 2 different people.

Sometimes, payment is delayed for over a month by PPs. Our tutors also feedback to us regarding the delayed payments for tuition as they feel like they are being taken advantage of.

There are also many cases where PPs arrange with the Tutor to skip Commission payment. Once both parties agree and are in on it, there is basically no way for the agency to prove that tuition has taken place. They can make up any story – such as lessons did not start, hence skipping Commission. (See: Private Tutor, Salary 2018)

4. You throw any Recommendations by Agents out the Door

PPs especially likes to throw any suggestions/recommendations that the agent makes out the window. Whatever the agent suggests, the problematic parent goes the other way. This might be because of the negative connotations attached to tuition agencies and agents in general – they want to milk more Sales Commission from you.

While it might be true for some agencies, it is certainly not true for CocoTutors. Our recommendations are made based on past experiences working with the Tutor, and also a comparison of their Qualifications and Experience with other Tutors.

5. When You say it is Not about the Money

But it is about the money. At the end of the day, you have to remember. You pay for what you get. Is it realistic to expect a $2.50 barber to cut like a renowned hairdresser and stylist? Same analogy for Tutors – a more Qualified and Experienced Tutor would likely not settle for a market/less than average rate. Same for you – would you accept a job for less than what you are worth? (See: How to find the Perfect Tutor)

Case study: we have had a Parent requesting for Sec 2NA English, Math and Science male Chinese tutor for $30/h. We found a male Chinese Tutor for her that has the following:

Parent then decide that she would only want to proceed at $25/h, which the Tutor promptly was willing to as well. After a few exchanges clarifying her doubts, she then says she will only want to proceed at $35 per lesson, which comes out to $2.50 less per lesson. Ended up not closing the assignment. Parent claimed multiple times that money was not the issue, and yet the root of the issue was the money and ego.

Lesson for Problematic Parents:

If you are a problematic parent and would like to try out our Services, please feel free here. Our agents and coordinators will be more than glad to take on the challenge! After all, the word-of-mouth we get after satisfying a Problematic Parent will be worth so much more.

CocoTutors: Home Tuition Agency – carefully reviews, select and interview potential Tutors before accepting them to join CocoTutors as a Tutor. Usually, we also do request Tutors to provide feedback/recommendations from their past/current students, hence ensuring that Tutors from CocoTutors only uphold the high standards and are able to provide quality and effective tuition for your Child. Our Undergraduate Home Tutors start from $25-50/h, depending on Qualifications & Experience. Start with a Free Tutor Search now!

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Miriam is part of the team that operates CocoTutors, a Home Tuition agency in Singapore. CocoTutors provides only well qualified and competent tutors for Home Tuition. You can try out our services at (www.cocotutors.com/find-a-tutor) or by calling +65 9177 9055 directly.

About us

CocoTutors is a Home Tuition Agency in Singapore, that is striving to have the largest Undergraduate Tutor base in Singapore. We provide you with Qualified and Experienced Home Tutors based on your needs, for free.